


Library

by Deodato



Category: Original Work
Genre: Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 16:42:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6292153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deodato/pseuds/Deodato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reno meets someone unexpected at the library.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Library

**Author's Note:**

> Rated teen-and-up for one use of swearing. I'm new to posting here so if a general audiences rating makes a better fit then tell me and I can change it, I just wanna play it safe for now! 
> 
> You can also find this on my DeviantArt account (neonbot), along with pictures of what the characters in the story look like.

Reno sighed with relief and stretched in his computer chair, savouring the sound of the library's printer ejecting out a hard day's work. The essay wasn't due for another two days but Reno thought he'd give his lecturer a pleasant surprise by actually doing his work to the full extent for once - that, and he desperately needed something to distract himself from the thought of Todd. A knot formed in his throat as the event flashed across his mind but he quickly dispelled the memory with a swig of his bottled water and made his way to collect his work from the printer. He'd put on a brave face and forced a facade of not being anywhere near as heartbroken as he truly was; but he suspected that no one was falling for it. Especially not himself.

The 8 printed pages were warm to the touch; a sensation Reno had loved since his childhood. When he was a kid he'd once printed out dozens of pages with gibberish text at his father's office just to smell the ink and feel the warmth - and he promptly got a telling off when his deed was discovered. He clumsily stapled the pages of his essay together and shoved them in his backpack along with the USB stick and other stuff he'd left at the computer he'd been using. Just as he was about to leave a familiar figure wheeled past him and settled at the back of the library alone, behind the tall bookshelves.   
Him, Reno thought to himself in disgust. Today was just starting to turn good, why did _he_ have to turn up and spoil the good mood? Good thing Reno was just about to leave-

A quiet-yet-noticeable sniffle from where the new patron had settled interrupted Reno's internal irritation. It was quite late at night and most major exams were already over, leaving Reno to be the only one in the library other than staff up until that point. He paused and strained his ears towards the direction of the noise, barely making out more sniffling and hitched breath. Was he.... _crying_?  
Good, Reno huffed mentally and took another indignant swig from his bottle. _'Serves him right for stealing my best friend from me. Know-it-all fuckin' prettyboy._  
He prepared himself yet again to leave but something held him back. He glanced back at the direction of the silent sobbing for short moment and with a resigned sigh made his way to the source of the sound. Reno was a naturally caring person and no matter how much he hated this kid's guts he felt he ought to do something - it felt wrong to knowingly leave someone in obvious distress. 

"Hey, are you.... Are you alright, Mikhail?" Reno mumbled to the weeping form as he sat hunched in a wheelchair, hand covering his mouth to stifle his sobs. Mikhail jumped ever so slightly when he finally noticed Reno standing there, hurriedly wiping his tear-soaked eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and immediately averting his gaze.

"I'm fine, go a- why are you..." Mikhail attempted a coherent response but trailed off as his body began to shake uncontrollably. " Please just.... Go away I don't need this right now."  
Reno sighed and sat on the available chair across from Mikhail. Part of him urged him to leave the kid to wallow in self pity whilst the other half - the victorious half - willed him to stay and try his best to help out. Mikhail looked utterly distraught and no one deserved to feel this way alone, Reno reassured himself.

"Im not leaving until you tell me what's wrong or until I've helped in whatever way I can." Reno said in a steady voice. "I mean, if you really want me to leave I will but..."

Mikhail scoffed and finally made eye contact: "Yeah, I'm sure _you_ are just so desperate to help _me_. Have you forgotten who I am or something?" The tears suddenly quickened and he struggled even more to hold in his noisy sobs. Reno grimaced and self consciously scratched the back of his neck. He felt like a bully - the kid hadn't really done anything wrong other than unintentionally make Reno excruciatingly jealous yet he still acted like an immature child and did everything in his power to make Mikhail miserable whenever they were in the same room. It wasn't fair and he'd known that from the start; but seeing his target visibly upset sank in exactly how horrible he'd been.

"Not that it matters anyway. You finally got what you wanted." Mikhail snapped and blew his nose on one of the many tissues he had stuffed in his coat pocket. Reno looked at him with a blank expression and raised an eyebrow, completely lost at what he was implying.  
"He broke up with me."  
Oh. Reno held his breath and looked down at the carpetted, gum-littered floor in shame. 

"I... I didn't want-"  
"Oh, don't act like this isn't what you wanted from the day you first met me! Aren't you happy now? I'm breaking down and I'm completely alone, isn't this what you want?"   
Reno's face flushed bright red as a wave of guilt poured over him, almost suffocatingly. No... He didn't want this, not really. He just wanted his friend back.... Which he now had.  
"I'm sorry... I really am, for everything..." Reno started, holding back his own tears, "I was just jealous... Of you and the attention Alan gave you. I didn't want this. I'm so sorry."

Mikhail slouched forward and buried his head in his arms on the small, rickety table that really should have been replaced years ago. He began to let it all out, his arms muffling the worst of the noise. Reno tentatively stretched out his arm and hesitated before gently settling his hand on one of Mikhail's heaving shoulders. Mikhail lay like that, crying for a solid 5 or so minutes without any word being exchanged between the two young men. A few tears escaped from Reno but he swiftly wiped them away before Mikhail could see. When Mikhail began to calm down he finally sat up and wiped away the last of the tears, looking in any direction but the one Reno was sitting. 

"I'm sorry," he finally mumbled with a final sniffle, "Thank you for sitting with me."  
"It's no bother at all," Reno replied with a small, kind smile. A glance at his phone told him that he should probably head home to save Stan worrying about him. That kid was a worrywart at the best of times, let alone when there was a supposed killer active in the area. I could take on a killer no problem if he were to try anything! Reno had boasted jokingly the previous day as he flexed his thin arms, gaining a small chuckle from Stan. He'd be a liar if he said he wasn't remotely phased by the murders but his rational side prevailed any time he needed to go out at night. That, and he had to look brave for Stan.

"I kinda need to go now, but do you want me to give you my number? I'm open to talk just about any time and I won't tell anyone else about anything you don't want them to know. We could maybe even arrange to meet up again at some point?"  
Mikhail nodded silently in reply as he took his scuffed, ancient phone out of his pocket and handed it to Reno for him to copy his details into it. Reno raised an eyebrow at the age and state of the phone but said nothing. Still, this kid was loaded, wasn't he? What's he carrying this shoddy thing around for? He pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and keyed in his number and name, complete with a smiley face.  
"Remember, you can call or text me any time you want," Reno smiled down at him, handing the phone back and placing his own back into the pocket of his jeans. He could have sworn he saw a small, thankful smile play on the younger boy's lips before he turned around to head home. It occurred to him that he'd never seen Mikhail hang around with anyone in public other than Alan, and that this might have been the first non-Alan related amicability he'd received since moving to Glasgow. He was a good kid deep down, if Reno's assumption was true - which he hoped it wasn't - then he'd do his damnedest to make sure the kid made at least one friend. Being alone and friendless is no fun and if anyone deserved it, it sure as hell wasn't Mikhail.   
"See you later, Mikhail," he said over his shoulder with a smile as he made his way to the front door. He was but seconds out of the main exit of the library when he felt a vibrating from his phone in his pocket. He took it out to see a text message from an unknown number:

"You can call me Misha if you want."


End file.
